Systems, methods, and computer readable medium for providing a site for selling a product in response to a request from a terminal

ABSTRACT

A user ID and a corporation ID for identifying an organization to which the user belongs are pre-registered in association, and the corporation ID of the organization to which the user belongs is specified based on a login name entered when the user logs in a shopping site by a terminal (S 1 ). Based on the specified corporation ID, a user ID of a user which is associated with the same corporation ID is specified (S 2 ). Based on the specified user ID, order placement information corresponding to the user ID is searched for (S 3 ), and an order placement condition for a predetermined period, of the organization to which the user belongs is displayed on the terminal (S 4 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a business transaction utilizing anetwork, and particularly relates to a network system or the likesuitable for efficient utilization of online shopping by a group.

BACKGROUND ART

With the growth of the internet, online shopping is becoming rapidlywidespread.

Ordinary online shopping is conducted in a way that a user becomes theuser of a system in advance, logs in a web page selling products, etc.by using a predetermined terminal after the user registration, selects aproduct in the web page, and inputs payment settlement information.

In such online shopping utilizing the internet, there is known atechnique for storing purchase log information regarding products boughtby a user in the past and information regarding the user in association,and enabling the user to utilize the purchase log information when theuser accesses a shopping site (for example, see Unexamined JapanesePatent Application KOKAI Publication No. 11-232326, Unexamined JapanesePatent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2000-306007, UnexaminedJapanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2001-22831, andUnexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No.2001-134648).

On the other hand, a business organization such as a corporation, etc.has many group members group by group (for example, section, division,etc.), and generally one group member purchases an article for the usein the group to which the member belongs. Here, in a case where aplurality of group members in the same group order the same article, theorder is duplicate and the purchased article might be wasteful.

The above-described prior art is for enabling an individual to utilizethe purchase log of his/her own, and no consideration is given toapplication of this art to purchase of articles group by group in acorporation, etc. and management of the articles. That is, theabove-described prior art has a drawback that purchase log of each groupmember can be utilized but this does not facilitate efficientutilization of online shopping by the group.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstance, and anobject of the present invention is to provide a network system suitablefor efficient utilization of online shopping by a group in acorporation, etc.

A network system according to a first aspect of the present invention isa network system for providing a site for selling a product based oninformation entered by a terminal connected to a network, and comprisesan order placement information storage unit which stores order placementinformation representing a content of an order placed from the terminalin association with operator information for identifying an operator ofthe terminal, an identification information storage unit which storesorganization information for identifying an organization to which theoperator belongs in association with operator information regarding anoperator who belongs to the organization, an identification informationspecifying unit which specifies the organization informationcorresponding to the operator information of the operator of theterminal which has been permitted to log in the site, and operatorinformation regarding an operator associated with the organizationinformation, by referring to the identification information storageunit, an order placement information acquiring unit which acquires orderplacement information associated with the operator information specifiedby the identification information specifying unit, by searching theorder placement information storage unit, and an order placementinformation notifying unit which notifies the order placementinformation acquired by the order placement information acquiring unitto the terminal which has been permitted to log in.

In the above-described network system, the identification informationspecifying unit may comprise an organization information specifying unitwhich specifies the organization information corresponding to theoperator information of the operator of the terminal which has beenpermitted to log in the site, by referring to the identificationinformation storage unit, and an operator information specifying unitwhich specifies operator information corresponding to the organizationinformation specified by the organization information specifying unit,by referring to the identification information storage unit, and theorder placement information acquiring unit may acquire order placementinformation associated with the operator information specified by theoperator information specifying unit.

The above-described network system may further comprise an operatorselection means providing unit which provides the terminal withselection means for selecting at least one operator among operatorscorresponding to operator information specified by the operatorinformation specifying unit, and the order placement informationacquiring unit may search the order placement information storage unitto acquire order placement information associated with operatorinformation of the operator selected by the selection means from theterminal.

In the above-described network system, it is preferred that the orderplacement information acquiring unit acquire order placement informationregarding a predetermined period.

In the above-described network system, the order placement informationmay include at least article information for identifying an orderedarticle, quantity information indicating an ordered quantity, priceinformation indicating a price of the ordered article, order placementdate information indicating an order placement date, and delivereeinformation indicating a deliveree of the ordered article.

The above-describe network system may further comprise search conditionproviding means for providing the terminal with condition selectionmeans for selecting a search condition for order placement informationassociated with operator information specified by the operatorinformation specifying unit, and the order placement informationnotifying unit may present on the terminal, order placement informationstored in the order placement information storage unit and searched outby the order placement information acquiring unit based on the searchcondition selected by the condition selection means from the terminal.

In the above-described network system, it is preferred that thecondition selection means can select at least one of the articleinformation, the order placement date information, and the delivereeinformation.

According to this structure, when an organization member of anorganization such as a corporation places an order for a product byutilizing the present network system, the organization member can referto a content of an order placed by another organization member belongingto the same organization unit (for example, work unit, division,section, group, etc.) as the organization member. In this case, by orderplacement information for the organization unit covering, for example,one month before the present date and time being automaticallydisplayed, the organization member can easily refer to the present orderplacement condition.

Therefore, the organization member can know whether or not the productwhich the member is about to order has been already ordered by anotherorganization member, making it possible to prevent a duplicate order andperform the order placing process efficiently.

Further, by entering a search condition such as order placement dateinformation, deliveree information, etc., the organization member canrefer to an order placement condition corresponding to the searchcondition. This makes it possible for, for example, a manager to easilyrefer to an order placement (purchase) condition for the organizationunit and to utilize it in the management of accounting information.

A method of providing online shopping according to a second aspect ofthe present invention stores user information for identifying a user inassociation with organization information for identifying anorganization to which the user belongs, stores order placementinformation indicating a content of an order placed from a terminalconnected to a network in association with user information of an orderplacer, specifies, when the user accesses a shopping site via thenetwork, corresponding organization information based on the userinformation entered from the terminal, and specifies user information ofan order placer associated with the organization information, andacquires order placement information associated with the specified userinformation from the stored order placement information, and notifiesthe acquired order placement information to the terminal as informationindicating a purchase log of an organization corresponding to thespecified organization information.

A purchase log presenting method according to a third aspect of thepresent invention is a purchase log presenting method which is appliedto a network system for providing a product selling service based oninformation entered from a terminal connected to a network, andcomprises a user registering step of performing user registration byregistering user information for identifying a user of the service, anorganization information registering step of registering, in a casewhere the user registered in the user registering step uses the serviceas a member of an organization, organization information for identifyingthe organization in association with the user information, an orderplacement information storing step of storing order placementinformation indicating a content of an order placed when the service isused, in association with user information of an order placer, anorganization information specifying step of specifying, when the useruses the service, corresponding organization information based on theuser information, a user information specifying step of specifying, in acase where organization information is specified in the organizationinformation specifying step, user information associated with theorganization information, and an order placement information notifyingstep of acquiring order placement information associated with the userinformation specified in the user information specifying step from theorder placement information stored in the order placement informationstoring step, and notifying the acquired order placement information tothe terminal as information indicating a purchase log.

A server apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present inventionis a server apparatus which is connected to a network, provides a sitefor selling a product in response to a request from a terminal connectedto the network, and comprises a connection unit which connects to thenetwork, an identification information storage unit which storesoperator information for identifying an operator of the terminal inassociation with organization information for identifying anorganization to which the operator belongs, an order placementinformation storage unit which stores a content of an order placed fromthe terminal in association with operator information of an operator whohas placed the order, an order placement reception unit which receives aplaced order for a product and receives operator information indicatingan operator of a terminal which has sent the order, by controlling theconnection unit, an organization information acquiring unit whichacquires from the identification information storage unit, organizationinformation associated with the operator information based on theoperator information received by the order placement reception unit, anoperator information acquiring unit which acquires from theidentification information storage unit, operator information associatedwith the organization information based on the organization informationacquired by the organization information acquiring unit, an orderplacement information acquiring unit which acquires from the orderplacement information storage unit, order placement informationassociated with the operator information based on the operatorinformation acquired by the operator information acquiring unit, and anorder placement information sending unit which sends the order placementinformation acquired by the order placement information acquiring unitto the terminal of the operator as purchase log information, bycontrolling the connection unit.

In the above-described server apparatus, it is preferred that the orderplacement information sending unit present a selection area forselecting at least one operator among operators corresponding tooperator information acquired by the operator information acquiringunit, on the terminal, and the order placement information acquiringunit acquire from the order placement information storage unit, orderplacement information associated with operator information of theoperator selected in the selection area.

In the above-described server apparatus, the order placement informationsending unit may present an input area for inputting a search conditionfor order placement information associated with operator informationacquired by the operator information acquiring unit, on the terminal,and may present a result of search for the order placement informationstored in the order placement information storage unit which is searchedby the order placement information acquiring unit based on the searchcondition input in the input area, on the terminal.

In the above-described server apparatus, it is preferred that the orderplacement information include at least article information foridentifying an ordered article, order placement date informationindicating an order placement date, and deliveree information indicatinga deliveree of the ordered article, and the order placement informationacquiring unit search the order placement information storage unit usingat least one of the article information, the order placement dateinformation, and the deliveree information as the search condition.

All parts or some parts of a program necessary for a computer tofunction as the above-described server apparatus may be recorded on arecording medium (a ROM, a flexible disk, a hard disk a CD-ROM, an MO, aCD-R, a flash memory) or the like to be distributed and circulated.

Further, all parts or some parts of a signal necessary for controlling acomputer as the above-described server apparatus may be provided by acarrier wave.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of a network system according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing structures of an in-store terminal and anin-store DB system installed in each store;

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of customer information storedin the in-store DB system;

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of corporation informationstored in the in-store DB system;

FIG. 3C is a diagram showing an example of sales information stored inthe in-store DB system;

FIG. 3D is diagram showing an example of bill information stored in thein-store DB system;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing structures of a master server and a masterDB system;

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of product information stored nthe master DB system;

FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of customer information storedin the master DB system;

FIG. 5C is a diagram showing an example of related product informationstored in the master DB system;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing structures of a shopping server and ashopping DB system;

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing online user information stored in theshopping DB system;

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing corporation information stored in theshopping DB system;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing structures of a shipping management serverand a shipping management DB;

FIG. 9A is a diagram showing delivery center information stored in theshipping management DB;

FIG. 9B is a diagram showing product information stored in the shippingmanagement DB;

FIG. 9C is a diagram showing delivery lead time information stored inthe shipping management DB;

FIG. 9D is a diagram showing shipment reception condition informationstored in the shipping management DB;

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a process till a shopping page isdisplayed in response to an access from a client terminal;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a web page providing process shownin FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of a top page displayedin the web page providing process shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a personalized pagedisplayed in the web page providing process shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining a customer information searchingprocess shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining a purchase log acquiring processshown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining a purchase log displaying processshown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display example of a purchase log pagedisplayed in the purchase log displaying process shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display example of an order conditionpage displayed in the purchase log displaying process shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a display example of a product purchasepage displayed in the purchase log displaying process shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining a product notifying process shownin FIG. 10;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining a stock confirming process shownin FIG. 10;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining a shopping page displaying processshown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a display example of a shopping pagedisplayed in the shopping page displaying process shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining a process till an order completionpage is displayed in response to an instruction from a client terminal;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a display example of a cart confirmingscreen displayed in an order receiving process shown in FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a display example of an order confirmingscreen displayed in an order confirming/order placing process shown inFIG. 24; and

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a display example of an order completionpage displayed in an order reception notifying process shown in FIG. 24.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 exemplarily shows a structure of a network system according to afirst embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, thissystem comprises an intra-company network system 1 held by a businessorganization such as a company, an association, etc., internet 2 open tothe public, and client terminals 31 (31 ₁ to 31 _(n)) connected to theinternet 2.

The intra-company network system 1 is constituted by an intranet or thelike, and comprises a plurality of in-store terminals 11 (11 ₁ to 11_(m)) and in-store DB systems 21 (21 ₁ to 21 _(m)), a master server 13,a master DB system 23, a shopping server 15, a shopping DB system 25, ashipping management server 17, and a shipping management DB 27 system,all of which are connected to each other via an intra-company network 3such as a LAN, a WAN, and the like.

The in-store terminal 11 is a terminal installed in the businessorganization's own or franchised stores, service shops, etc. forprocessing business affairs in the respective stores. Each in-store DBsystem 21 is a DB system for each store to process each store's ownbusiness affairs. The in-store terminal 11 and the in-store DB system 21have configurations shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the in-storeterminal 11 comprises a communication control unit 111, a control unit112, a data storage unit 113, an input processing unit 114, and adisplay processing unit 115.

The communication control unit 111 is for sending and receiving variousinformation via the intra-company network 3 under the control of thecontrol unit 112.

The control unit 112 performs communications via the communicationcontrol unit 111, or processes various information concerning businessaffairs in a store in accordance with an instruction input from theinput processing unit 114. Further, the control unit 112 creates imageinformation and supplies it to the display processing unit 115.

The data storage unit 113 is constituted by a semiconductor memory, amagnetic disk recording device, or the like, and stores variousinformation and programs.

The input processing unit 114 is constituted by a keyboard, a pointingdevice, and the like, and is for inputting instructions and data.

The display processing unit 115 is constituted by a display device, avideo memory, and the like, and displays images in accordance with imageinformation supplied form the control unit 112 for presenting(outputting) information, etc.

On the other hand, the in-store DB system 21 comprises a customer DB211, a sales DB 212, and a bill DB 213.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the customer DB 211 is a DB in which basicinformation regarding a customer of a store's own is set, and storesinformation such as customer ID, name, address, customer type(distinction between corporation and individual (corporation ID in caseof a corporation)), customer rank, salesperson in charge, recommendedproduct, message from salesperson in charge, delivery place code, areacode, etc. Here, “customer ID” is information for identifying acustomer, and information unique to each customer is set therefor.“Customer rank” indicates the degree of excellence of a customerconcerned. Discount rates for product prices and coupons to be given tothe customer concerned are determined in accordance with “customerrank”. “Customer rank” is set by, for example, a salesperson in charge.“Recommended product” is a product a salesperson in charge wants torecommend to his/her customer, and is set by the salesperson in charge.Further, “message from salesperson in charge” is a short message from asalesperson in charge of each customer. “Delivery place code” and “areacode” are codes for identifying the delivery place for a product, andare codes set in advance correspondingly to the address or the like ofthe delivery place.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the customer information DB 211 alsostores information regarding a corporate customer. As shown in FIG. 3B,record is generated for each corporation ID assigned corporation bycorporation. Each record stores information representing name of thecorporation concerned, location, customer ID of a person in charge ofpurchase, and his/her belonging division.

The sales DB 212 stores product code, quantity, and unit price of apurchased product, purchaser (ID), salesperson in charge (ID), etc. inunit of each business transaction, as shown in FIG. 3C. Since salesinformation is stored in unit of each business transaction, products(product group) purchased at the same time can be known.

The bill DB 213 is a DB for cumulating bill information for one monthand issuing a bill, and information such as date of selling, purchasedproduct, quantity, unit price (offer price), person in charge (in caseof a corporation), etc. are set therein customer by customer as shown inFIG. 3D. In this shopping system, also in a case where a corporationpurchases a product through online shopping using the internet, thestore in charge of this corporation issues a collective bill. Therefore,similar information is set in the bill DB 213 for the sales throughonline shopping, and information representing whether it is a salesthrough online shopping or not (“online?”: YES/NO) is further set.

The master server 13 and the master DB system 23 shown in FIG. 1 arecomputer systems for processing jobs of the business organization on thewhole.

As shown in FIG. 4, the master server 13 comprises a communicationcontrol unit 131, a control unit 132, a data storage unit 133, an inputprocessing unit 134, and a display processing unit 135. The structuresand functions of the communication control unit 131, control unit 132,data storage unit 133, input processing unit 134, and display processingunit 135 are basically the same as the structures and functions of thecommunication control unit 111, control unit 112, data storage unit 113,input processing unit 114, display processing unit 115 of the in-storeterminal 11. However, note that the functions of the control unit 132include functions necessary for processing management works of thebusiness organization on the whole.

On the other hand, the master DB system 23 is for totaling and managingvarious data of the business organization on the whole, and comprises aproduct DB 231, a customer DB 232, a related product DB 233, and a salesDB 234 as shown in FIG. 4.

The product DB 231 stores product code of every product dealt in by thisbusiness organization, product name, product classification, referenceunit price, product category, link information, etc., as shown in FIG.5A.

Here, product category is information indicating which of “main part”,“option”, and “supply product” a product concerned belongs to. “Mainpart” points to a principal product which is usually used solely.“Option” points to a product which is usually not used solely, but usedattached to or connected to “main part”. “Supply product” points to onethat is usually not used solely, but set in “main part” or “option” andreduced along with its use. Taking for example, a copier as an example,the copier itself corresponds to “main part”, a feeder, a sorter, acommunication device, a power source device, etc. which are used whileinstalled in the copier correspond to “option”, and toner and sheet ofpaper correspond to “supply product”. Further, taking a digital cameraas an example, the camera itself corresponds to “main part”, a cable forconnecting the camera and a personal computer, communication software,etc. correspond to “option”, and a flash memory card for cumulatingimages, a battery, etc. correspond to “supply product”.

Link information is information for registering anything that is in adifferent product category and can be applied to a product concerned.For example, in case of “main part”, product codes of options and supplyproducts that are matched to the main part are registered. Likewise, incase of “option”, product codes of main parts to which the option ismatched, or product codes of supply products matched to the option areregistered. Further, in case of “supply product”, product codes of mainparts and options to which the supply product is matched are registered.In the example shown in FIG. 5A, C203 is listed as a supply product thatcan be applied to a product categorized as main part and identified by aproduct code A123. Accordingly, link information for the product codeC203 has listed A123 as a main part to which it is matched.

Due to the product category and link information, each product isclassified into any of the product categories and matching products arelinked with. Accordingly, if a model type of, for example, a main partis designated, options or supply products matched to the designated mainpart can be specified. Products can be selected or designated by thistype of association method. Further, a product category is firstspecified, and products that are suited to an arbitrary product can beselected and designated from the specified product category.

The customer DB 232 stores customer information regarding all customersof this business organization. The stored contents are, as shown in FIG.5B, almost the same as those in the customer DB 211 shown in FIG. 3A.However, note that the customer DB 232 also stores information on aproduct (apparatus) possessed by each customer. Further, the customer DB232 also stores corporation information shown in FIG. 3B, likewise thecustomer DB 211 of the in-store DB system 21.

The related product DB 233 records a product, etc. that has a highpossibility of being purchased together with something or shouldpreferably be purchased together with something, as shown in FIG. 5C.

For example, it can be considered that an arbitrary product and itsoptions and supply products are related with each other. Further, in acase where, for example, a digital camera is purchased, software forediting and processing taken images and a printer for printing theprocessed images should preferably be purchased. Accordingly, theseproducts are related products. As in this case, if such relation isobvious beforehand, relation information indicating the related productsis set in an area 233A of the related product DB 233 by a person incharge via the input processing unit 134.

On the other hand, even in a case where the person in charge of thissystem does not notice such relation, products that are bought by manypeople together with an arbitrary product are in many cases ones thatshould preferably be purchased together. Hence, the control unit 132checks past sales logs, and registers relation information indicatingrelation between two products if a ratio of the two products beingpurchased together exceeds a predetermined value, for example, 5%.

The sales DB 234 has set information regarding sales of this businessorganization on the whole, which is the accumulation of sales data inall the stores. The structure is basically the same as the structure ofthe sales DB 212 of each store shown in FIG. 3C, and sales informationin unit of each business transaction is registered. Accordingly, themaster server 13 can find out products that were purchased together withsomething based on the contents of the sales DB 234.

The shopping server 15 and the shopping DB system 25 shown in FIG. 1 aresystems for processing online shopping via the internet, and havestructures shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, the shopping server 15 comprises a communicationcontrol unit 151, a control unit 152, a data storage unit 153, an inputprocessing unit 154, and a display processing unit 155.

The structures and functions of the communication control unit 151,control unit 152, data storage unit 153, input processing unit 154, anddisplay processing unit 155 are basically the same as the structures andfunctions of the communication control unit 111, control unit 112, datastorage unit 113, input processing unit 114, and display control unit115 of the in-store terminal 11. However, the function of the controlunit 152 includes a function necessary for operating a web page foronline shopping, processing of sales volume, etc.

As shown in FIG. 6, the shopping DB system 25 comprises an online userDB 251, a web page material DB 252, a web page DB 253, a product DB 254,a sales DB 255, an order DB 256, a related product DB 257, a manual DB258, and a news DB 259.

The online user DB 251 is a database for storing information regarding auser of online shopping, and customer ID, name, address, customer type(distinction between corporation and individual (corporation ID isadditionally recorded in case of a corporation)), login account (emailaddress/password), possessed apparatus, delivery place code, and areacode are set therein, as shown in FIG. 7A. Further, in case of acorporation, customer rank, salesperson in charge (store+salesperson incharge), recommended product, message from salesperson in charge, etc.are set. Customer ID is information for identifying a user. In case of acorporate customer, ID same as the ID used at a store or service storeis used as the customer ID. Name and address are the name andaddress/location of a user concerned. Login account is a pair of addressfor electronic mail (email address) of a user concerned and password,and is necessary when the user concerned logs in an online shoppingservice.

In case of a corporate user, account is registered for each person incharge in the corporation (for example, a person in the general affairsdivision or purchase division). Possessed apparatus is information on anapparatus (main part) possessed by a user concerned. In case of a userwho does online shopping only and does not make a deal in a store, aproduct sold in the past through online shopping is set. On the otherhand, in case of a corporate user who uses both of deals through onlineshopping and in a store, information on the possessed apparatus is setbased on logs of both of selling in a store and selling through onlineshopping. The number of persons in charge may be plural, and loginaccount is set in accordance in number with the number of persons incharge. As to customer rank, salesperson in charge, recommended product,message from salesperson in charge, delivery place code, and area codewhich are set in case of a corporation, the same information as set inthe customer DB 211 in the in-store DB system 21 is set. Further, thecustomer DB 251 stores corporation information (same as the customer DBs211 and 232) shown in FIG. 7B.

The web page material DB 252 stores images of various materials forcreating a web page. For example, the web page material DB 252 stores afacial image of each salesperson in charge, images of products,catchphrases, various kinds of forms, etc.

The web page DB 253 stores various web pages necessary for providing anonline shopping service.

The product DB 254 is a database of products handled in this onlineshopping, and has the same structure as that of the product DB 231.

The sales DB 255 has the same structure as that of the sales DB 212(FIG. 3C) of each store, and sales information is registered therein inunit of each business transaction.

The order DB 256 stores data regarding an order in online shopping.

The related product DB 257 has copied thereinto only informationregarding products handled in the online shopping service, of therelated product information registered in the related product DB 233 ofthe master DB system 23.

The manual DB 258 stores operation manuals or user manuals for aplurality of apparatuses in electronic data.

The news DB 259 stores, for example, news provided through various newssources on the internet and news input from the shopping server 15 genreby genre.

The shipping management server 17 and the shipping management DB 27system shown in FIG. 1 are systems for arranging delivery and managingstocks in response to reception and placement of orders, and havestructures shown in FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, the shipping management server 17 comprises acommunication control unit 171, a control unit 172, a data storage unit173, an input processing unit 174, and a display processing unit 175.

The structures and functions of the communication control unit 171,control unit 172, data storage unit 173, input processing unit 174, anddisplay processing unit 175 are basically the same as the structures andfunctions of the communication control unit 111, control unit 112, datastorage unit 113, input processing unit 114, and display processing unit115 of the in-store terminal 11. However, note that the functions of thecontrol unit 172 include functions necessary for processing receptionand placement of orders, managing stocks, specifying dates of delivery,etc.

As shown in FIG. 8, the shipping management DB 27 system comprises adelivery center DB 271, a product DB 272, a delivery lead time DB 273,and a shipment reception condition DB 274.

As shown in FIG. 9A, in the delivery center DB 271, priority levels areset for delivery centers belonging to the business organization on thebasis of delivery-place-code by delivery-place-code, so that theshipping management server 17 can determine a delivery center that willship a product to the delivery place.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the product DB 272 stores information indicating adelivery center that can ship each product on the basis of a productcode assigned to each product. In the example shown in FIG. 9B, “OK” isindicated for a delivery center that can ship a product corresponding toa given product code, and a section is left blank for a delivery centerthat can not ship the product.

As shown in FIG. 9C, in the delivery lead time DB 273, the number ofdays required for a product to reach the order placer after shipment ofthe product from each delivery center is set for each area codecorresponding to the address of the product delivery destination.

As shown in FIG. 9D, the shipment reception condition DB 274 is a DB forconfirming a stock condition and shipment reception condition of aproduct, and information such as number in stock, planned next shipmentreception date, planned amount of shipment, etc. are set for eachproduct code. Further, in the shipment reception condition DB 274,information indicating whether a product is in stock or out of stock(“in stock”/“waiting for shipment reception”) and information indicatingwhether there is any shipment reception plan or not (planned/unplanned)may be set. Note that a value may be set for number in stock and plannedamount of shipment on the basis of each delivery center belonging to thebusiness organization.

[Operation]

Next, a business activity of the business organization utilizing thesystem having the above-described structure will be explained.

[Operation at a Store]

Each salesperson in charge at each store keeps in contact with customerson a daily basis to sell products and seek new customers.

When there is a new sales (order), the person in charge at the storeregisters the content of the sales (order) in the sales DB 212 in thein-store DB system 21 via the in-store terminal 11. At this time, onetransaction number is set for a plurality of products traded in onebusiness transaction. Further, in a case where a new customer isachieved by a salesperson, the salesperson registers informationregarding the customer in the customer DB 211.

For a corporation in the charge of a salesperson, the salesperson incharge suitably sets the customer rank of the corporation (degree ofexcellence as a customer), a recommended product suitable for thecustomer, a message for the customer, etc.

The master server 13 accesses the in-store DB system 21 of each storeand the shopping DB system 25 in the midnight for example, to read outupdated information (difference data), and updates the master DB system23 based on the data. Due to this, for example, sales information of theday concerned is registered in the sales DB 234. Further, in a casewhere main apparatuses (products corresponding in product category tomain product) possessed by each customer are increased due to thissales, this information is added in the section of “possessed product”in the customer DB 232. Furthermore, in a case where the customerinformation is changed or in a case where a new customer is achieved,the master server 13 updates the customer DB 232.

Further, the master server 13 sets customer rank of a corporatecustomer, recommended product, message from salesperson in charge, etc.collected from the customer DB 211 of each store in the online user DB251 of the shopping DB system 25 via the shopping server 15. Further,the master server 13 generates related product information based on thecontents of the updated sales DB 234, and sets the generated informationin the related product DB 233. Furthermore, of the updated relatedproduct information, the master server 13 records only informationregarding online shipping in the related product DB 257 via the shoppingserver 15.

[Online Shopping Service]

[Prior Registration]

In order for a corporate customer to use the online shopping service, itis necessary for the corporate customer to be registered beforehand at astore or the like. The corporate customer writes registration to onlineshopping in a registration application form or the like in the presenceof a salesperson in charge, and applies for registration via thesalesperson in charge. There may be a plurality of persons in charge inone corporation, and the login accounts are set correspondingly in thenumber to the number of persons in charge. The information written inthe registration application form is forwarded to the manager of theshopping server 15 and registered in the online user DB 251 shown inFIG. 7. Here, information such as customer rank, etc. is set at thevalue determined by the salesperson in charge in order to secure matchwith services provided at each store. These processes are performedbetween the salesperson in charge at each store and the manager of theshopping server 15 by getting in contact with each other.

On the other hand, an individual customer accesses a user registrationweb page in a site operated by the shopping server 15 from thecustomer's own client terminal 31 via an unillustrated ISP (InternetService Provider) and the internet 2. Then, the customer registershis/her e-mail address, address/name, payment method, etc. via this userregistration web page. A password is issued for the registeredindividual. The shopping server 15 affixes a user ID to theseinformation pieces, and registers them in the online user DB 251.

[Operation for Online Shopping]

Next, an operation of a case where online shopping is actually done willbe explained.

An arbitrary user can access a login screen of a web page provided bythe shopping server 15 from the user's own client terminal 31 via theinternet. In response to the access by the client terminal 31, theshopping server 15 starts a process of FIG. 10 to perform a web pageproviding process (step S1). This web page providing process is aprocess for determining whether or not to permit the login based on theinformation entered from the client terminal 31 and for displaying apersonalized page prepared user by user in a case where the login ispermitted.

The web page providing process of step S1 will now be specificallyexplained. FIG. 11 is a flowchart specifically showing the web pageproviding process performed by the shopping server 15 in step S1. In theweb page providing process, first, the shopping server 15 reads out atop page, which is a page (information in HTML format) shown in FIG. 12for entering a login name and a password, from the web page DB 253, andsends the page to the client terminal 31 so that the page is displayed(step S101).

In this page, an input section for entering a login account (e-mailaddress/password) is provided.

The user enters the login account from this screen, and clicks “GO!”,thereby the entered information is notified to the shopping server 15via the internet 2.

The shopping server 15 determines whether or not there is a request forlogging in a personalized page based on the instruction from theterminal 31 (step S102). In a case where there is no input of a loginaccount or the input login account is imperfect (step S102: No), theshopping server 15 provides a general page other than the personalizedpage (step S104).

On the contrary, in a case where there is a login request (step S102:Yes), the shopping server 15 causes the client terminal 31 to displaythe personalized page (step S103). More specifically, the shoppingserver 15 reads out the salesperson in charge at the store that is incharge of this customer, the customer rank, the possessed apparatus, therecommended product, and a message from the salesperson in charge fromthe online user DB 251. Next, the shopping server 15 reads out an imageof the salesperson in charge and an image of the recommended productfrom the web page material DB 252. After this, the shopping server 15specifies a supply product adaptable to the apparatus possessed by thelogging-in user based on the information on the possessed apparatus andthe relation information stored in the related product DB 257, andfurther reads out information regarding the supply product from the webpage material DB 252.

Next, the shopping server 15 arranges these information pieces to createsuch a web page as shown in FIG. 13, and sends it to the client terminal31 so that this page is displayed. When the personalized page isdisplayed on the client terminal 31 in this way, the web page providingprocess is completed.

As shown in FIG. 13, the personalized page is divided into two left andright frames, and items for navigating this site are arranged in theleft frame. Further, a message for the customer from the salesperson incharge is arranged in the upper left side of the right frame,information regarding the salesperson in charge who is in charge of thisuser is displayed in the upper right side of the right frame, and imagesof the products which the salesperson in charge recommends to thecustomer and various information such as a notice, service information,etc. are presented below the message and the salesperson's information.

When “order condition” is selected by the client terminal 31 from thenavigation display in the left frame, the shopping server 15 performs acustomer information searching process (step S2). The detail of thecustomer information searching process will be explained with referenceto a flowchart of FIG. 14.

First, the control unit 152 of the shopping server 15 acquires the loginaccount entered in step S102 (step S201).

The control unit 152 accesses the online user DB 251, and acquirescorporation ID information corresponding to the browser concerned basedon the login account acquired in step S201 (step S202). The corporationID is information indicating a corporation, a division, etc. to whichthe browser concerned belongs.

The control unit 152 further acquires a user ID of a user having thesame corporation ID as the corporation ID acquired in step S202 (stepS203). That is, the control unit 152 selects another user who belongs tothe same division as the browser.

Successively, the control unit 152 performs a purchase log acquiringprocess (step S3). The detail of the purchase log acquiring process willbe explained with reference to a flowchart of FIG. 15.

First, the control unit 152 acquires information indicating the presentdate from, for example, a predetermined timer circuit or the like (stepS301).

Next, the control unit 152 accesses the sales DB 255, and searches forsales information of the user based on the user ID acquired in stepS203. At this time, the control unit 152 searches for sales informationdating back from the present date by a predetermined period (forexample, one month) based on the present date information acquired instep S303 (step S302), and acquires a search result i.e. salesinformation corresponding to this condition (step S303).

The control unit 152 successively performs a purchase log displayingprocess (step S4). The detail of the purchase log displaying processwill be explained with reference to a flowchart of FIG. 16.

The control unit 152 creates a web page including the search resultacquired in step S303 (hereinafter referred to as “purchase log page”),and sends it to the client terminal 31 (step S401). A display example ofthe purchase log page is shown in FIG. 17.

As illustrated, the name of the browser and the division to which he/shebelongs are displayed in the purchase log page, and information (ordernumber, date of order, product name, order placer, price, etc.) based onthe sales information acquired in step S303 is also displayed in a listformat in this page. “Details” is displayed in, for example, a hyperlinkformat in a comment section of this list, and the page is jumped to apage showing the detailed information on the ordered product concernedby clicking each “details”.

That is, when this “details” is selected (step S402: Yes), the controlunit 152 inquires of the shipping management server 17 the currentcondition of the ordered product concerned, and acquires informationshowing the current condition (hereinafter referred to as “currentcondition information”) (step S403). Here, the current conditioninformation includes information such as details of the order, deliveryplace, bill sendee, etc. That is, the control unit 172 of the shippingmanagement server 17 acquires corresponding information from theshipping management DB 27 system in response to the inquiry from thecontrol unit 152 of the shopping server 15.

The control unit 152 of the shopping server 15 creates a web pageincluding the information representing the current condition informationacquired from the shipping management server 17 (hereinafter referred toas “order condition page”), and sends it to the client terminal 31 (stepS404).

A display example of this order condition page is shown in FIG. 18. Asillustrated, the information based on the current condition informationacquired in step S403 is displayed.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 17, a search screen is also displayed in thelower section of the purchase log page. Various text boxes and pull-downmenu for entering search conditions are prepared in the search screen.If the browser wants to check other purchase logs than the purchase logdisplayed in the list in the purchase log page, the browser entersdesired conditions in the search screen to carry out search. That is,when a “search” button is clicked (step S405: Yes), the control unit 152of the shopping sever 15 searches the sales DB 255 using the enteredconditions (step S406).

The control unit 152 creates a web page including information showingthe search result (in the same display format as the purchase log pageshown in FIG. 17), and sends it to the client terminal 31 (step S407).

Further, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, an indication of navigation to a“product purchase page” is displayed in, for example, a hyperlink formatin the lowermost section of each of the purchase log page (including thesearch result page) and the order condition page. When this navigationindicator is clicked (step S408: Yes), a product notifying process instep S5 will be performed. On the other hand, if jump to the productpurchase page is not selected, the display remains in the purchase logpage (step S408: No).

In a case where selecting the product purchase page, the user candesignate a product he/she wants to purchase by means of, for example, ashopping handcart model. As shown in FIG. 19, the product purchase pageis a page showing handled products category by category in a list. Whenthe user selects any of the categories (product categories), theshopping server 15 notifies products registered in the selected productcategory to the shipping management server 17 by performing theaforementioned product notifying process of step S5.

Next, the product notifying process of step S5 will be explained indetail. FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining the product notifyingprocess performed by the shopping server 15 in step S5. In the productnotifying process, the shopping server 15 determines whether selectionof a product category is made or not (step S501), and waits by repeatingthe procedure of step S501 in a case where no selection is made.

If selection of a product category is made, the shopping server 15searches the product DB 254 to perform such a procedure as extracting aproduct code of a product included in the selected product category. Byperforming this procedure, the shopping server 15 specifies a productbelonging to the selected product category (step S502).

After selecting a product belonging to the selected product category,the shopping server 15 notifies the extracted product code to theshipping management server 17 (step S503). When notification of theproduct to the shipping management server 17 is completed, the productnotifying process is finished.

Next, a stock confirming process of step S6 will be specificallyexplained. FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining the stock confirmingprocess performed by the shopping server 15 in step S6. The stockconfirming process is performed in response to that the shippingmanagement server 17 receives the notification of the product from theshopping server 15.

When the stock confirming process is started, the shipping managementserver 17 determines whether or not each product notified by theshopping server 15 is in stock or not (step S601). It can be confirmedwhether the product is in stock or not, by specifying the productnotified by the shopping server 15 by searching the shipment receptioncondition DB 274 and checking “stock condition” corresponding to thespecified product.

In case of a product that is secured in stock, the shipping managementserver 17 further checks “number in stock” corresponding to the productto determine whether the number of the product units in stock is equalto or smaller than a preset predetermined number (step S602). In a casewhere the number in stock is equal to or smaller than the predeterminednumber, the shipping management server 17 associates a message such as“few in stock” with the product code, and sends it to the shoppingserver 15 (step S603). On the contrary, in a case where the number instock exceeds the predetermined number, the shipping management server17 sends a message “affluent stock” to the shopping server 15 (stepS604).

In case of a product that is out of stock, the shipping managementserver 17 checks “next shipment reception plan” corresponding to theproduct, and determines whether or not there is a plan for receivingshipment of the product (step S605). In a case where there is a plan forreceiving shipment, the shipping management server 17 reads outinformation indicating a planned shipment reception date from “plannedshipment reception date” corresponding to the product (step S606), andassociates the read-out information with the product code to send it tothe shopping server 15 (step S607). On the contrary, in a case wherethere is no plan for shipment reception, a message such as “waiting forshipment reception” is sent to the shopping server 15 (step S608). Whenthe shipping management server 17 finishes the sending of theinformation and messages notifying the stock condition, shipmentreception plan, etc. for each product notified by the shopping server 15in this manner, the stock confirming process is completed.

Next, a shopping page displaying process of step S7 will be specificallyexplained. FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining the shopping pagedisplaying process performed by the shopping server 15 in step S7. Theshopping page displaying process is performed in response to that theshopping server 15 receives the information and messages notifying thestock condition, shipment reception plan, etc. from the shippingmanagement server 17.

When the shopping page displaying process is started, the shoppingserver 15 creates a shopping page, such as by reading out information onthe products belonging to the product category selected in theabove-described product notifying process of step S5 from the web pagematerial DB 252 (step S701). At this time, the shopping server 15 addsinformation indicating the stock condition, etc of each product to theshopping page, based on the information and messages received from theshipping management server 17. Furthermore, for products with theinformation indicating a planned shipment reception date and message“waiting for shipment reception” from the shipping management server 17,the shopping server 15, for example, adds an image “to salesperson incharge” which is linked to a page for enabling execution of a processfor contacting the salesperson in charge, in order to create a shoppingpage corresponding to the stock condition of the product.

Further, the shopping server 15 acquires a discount rate correspondingto the customer rank read out from the online user DB 251 in step S103of the above-described web page providing process. In the shopping page,an offer price with the discount rate taken into consideration (standardprice×(1−discount rate)) is displayed at a predetermined locationcorresponding to the product on sale.

The shopping server 15 sends the created shopping page to the clientterminal 31 so that the page is displayed (step S702). Accordingly, sucha shopping page as shown in FIG. 23 is displayed on the client terminal31, making it possible to enter an instruction for purchasing eachproduct.

In the shopping page shown in FIG. 23, for information on each product,information such as, for example, “few in stock”, “shipment receptionplanned on January 25th”, and “waiting for shipment reception”indicating the stock condition, shipment reception plan, etc. of theproduct is displayed for each product. Note that for a product with amessage “affluent stock” received, no particular information indicatingthe stock condition needs to be displayed, Further, an image “tosalesperson in charge” is displayed for the product with informationsuch as a planned shipment reception date and “waiting for shipmentreception”. The user can contact the salesperson in charge by clickingthe image “to salesperson in charge” set for the product the user wantsto purchase to send an email to the salesperson in charge, making itpossible to make a reservation for product purchase, etc.

After this, the shopping server 15 starts a process of FIG. 24 toperform an order receiving process (step S801). This order receivingprocess is a process for receiving an order for a product in response tothat the user conducts a procedure via the client terminal 31 forinstructing that the user will purchase the product.

In this process, an order for a product which is designated by selecting“put in cart” is received through the shopping page shown in FIG. 23. Inthis case, for example, such a page as shown in FIG. 25 indicating thecontents of the cart is sent to the client terminal 31. By the clientterminal 31 selecting “to order procedure”, information designating theproducts put in the cart is notified to the shopping server 15, therebythe order is received.

When receiving an order, the shopping server 15 performs an orderconfirming/order placing process (step S802). In this process, such apage as shown in FIG. 26 that is necessary when making an order such asdelivery place, payment method, etc. is sent to the client terminal 31,and at the same time information (order data) designating the orderedproducts is notified from the shopping server 15 to the shippingmanagement server 17.

Upon notification of the order data, the shipping management server 17performs a delivery arranging process (step S803), a deliverable datespecifying process (step S804), and a planned delivery date specifyingprocess (step S805) sequentially.

In the delivery arranging process, the shipping management server 17specifies a delivery center that has a stock of the ordered productsbased on the information recorded in the shipping management DB 27system to perform a process for arranging the delivery of the orderedproducts, and also performs a process for assigning the stock inaccordance with the contents of the order.

In the deliverable date specifying process, the shipping managementserver 17 specifies a date and time on and at which the ordered productcan be delivered, based on the planned shipment reception date for eachproduct and the lead time of each delivery center.

In the planned delivery date specifying process, the shipping managementserver 17 specifies a planned delivery date in accordance withconditions such as a desired delivery date and time designated by theuser, and notifies the date to the shopping server 15.

The shopping server 15, which has received the notification of a productdelivery date as a result of the performance of the planned deliverydate specifying process, performs an order reception notifying process(step S806), to create screen information (FIG. 27) that can present theplanned delivery date for each ordered product and send it to the clientterminal 31, so that the created information can be displayed on thescreen of the client terminal 31.

As explained above, according to the present embodiment, when a user whohas registered a corporation ID uses the online shopping system, theuser can check order placement log (purchase log) made by users havingthe same corporation ID. Accordingly, when the user purchases an articlenecessary for a work unit, division, section, group, etc. which is anorganizational unit of a corporation, the user can place an order afterchecking the order placement log, making it possible to prevent aduplicate order, etc. and to perform an effective order placementprocess.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment,but various modifications and applications thereof are available. Forexample, according to the above-described embodiment, the store systemand online shopping system for selling articles are united. However, thetargets of selling are arbitrary, and a similar system can be appliedto, for example, a store system and online system for providing digitalcontents (video, music, etc.), services, etc.

Further, the structures of the servers and DBs may be arbitrarilychanged. For example, in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it has been explained thatone in-store terminal 11 is installed in each store for easierunderstanding. However, a plurality of in-store terminals connected to aLAN or the like may be installed in each store. The master server 13 andthe shopping sever 15 may be constituted by a plurality of servers thatwork in cooperation. Further, the structures of the DBs are not limitedto the above-described structures. Two or more DBs may be united, or oneDB may be functionally divided into plurality. Further, setting ofredundant data may be omitted. For example, relations between mainparts, and options and supply products may not be set in the relatedproduct DB 233 in the above-described embodiment, but these relationsmay be specified based on the contents of the product DB 231.

Further, the related product DB 233 may not be provided, so thatinformation regarding related products may be processed by the relatedproduct DB 257. Likewise, link information for products may not bestored in the product DB 231, so that the link information may be setonly in the product DB 254.

All parts or some parts of a program required for a computer orcomputers to function as the above-described system or to perform theabove-described processes may be recorded on a recording medium (a ROM,a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, a CD-R, a flash memory)or the like so that the program may be distributed and circulated.Further, all parts or some parts of a signal for controlling a computeror computers as the above-described system or controlling a computer orcomputers to perform the above-described processes may be provided by acarrier wave.

The above description is intended for illustration, and not intended forlimitation. Many other embodiments and many other ways of use than theprovided example will become known to those skilled in the art uponreading of the above description. Accordingly, the scope of the presentinvention must be determined not by referring to the above description,but in accordance with all the scope of equivalence within which theclaims below are granted a right.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-356691filed on Nov. 21, 2001 and including specification, claims, drawings andsummary. The disclosure of the above Japanese Patent Application isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

1. A network system for providing a site for selling a product based oninformation entered by a terminal connected to a network, said networksystem comprising: an order placement information storage unit whichstores order placement information representing a content of an orderplaced from said terminal in association with operator information foridentifying an operator of said terminal; an identification informationstorage unit which stores organization information for identifying anorganization to which the operator belongs in association with operatorinformation regarding an operator who belongs to the organization; aspecifying unit which specifies the organization informationcorresponding to the operator of said terminal which has been permittedto log in to said site operators associated with the organizationinformation, by referring to said identification information storageunit; an order placement information acquiring unit which collectivelyacquires order placement information associated with the operator ofsaid terminal and order placement information associated with theoperator information specified by said specifying unit, by searchingsaid order placement information storage unit; an order placementinformation notifying unit which provides notification of the orderplacement information acquired by said order placement informationacquiring unit to said terminal which has been permitted to log in and,subsequent to a display of said order placement information by saidterminal, providing an indication of navigation to a products purchasepage for display by said terminal, said products purchase page allowingthe operator to provide said order placement information representingsaid content of said order; and an operator selection means providingunit which provides said terminal with selection means for selecting atleast one operator among operators corresponding to operator informationspecified by said specifying unit, wherein said order placementinformation acquiring unit searches said order placement informationstorage unit to acquire order placement information associated withoperator information of the operator selected by said selection meansand other operators in association with the organization informationspecified by said specifying unit from said terminal.
 2. The networksystem according to claim 1, wherein said order placement informationacquiring unit acquires order placement information indicating pastorder placements within a predetermined period from the current date. 3.The network system according to claim 1, wherein the order placementinformation includes at least article information for identifying anordered article, quantity information indicating an ordered quantity,price information indicating a price of the ordered article, orderplacement date information indicating an order placement date, anddeliveree information indicating a delivery of the ordered article. 4.The network system according to claim 3, further comprising searchcondition providing unit which provides said terminal with conditionselection means for selecting a search condition for order placementinformation associated with operator information specified by saidspecifying unit, wherein said order placement information notifying unitpresents on said terminal, order placement information stored in saidorder placement information storage unit and searched out by said orderplacement information acquiring unit based on the search conditionselected by said condition selection means from said terminal.
 5. Thenetwork system according to claim 4, wherein said condition selectionmeans can select at least one of the article information, the orderplacement date information, and the deliveree information.
 6. Thenetwork system according to claim 3, wherein said identificationinformation storage unit further stores a rank indicating the degree ofexcellence of the operator or of an organization to which the operatorbelongs, and said network system, further comprising: a calculation unitfor calculating a discount rate for a product price indicated by theorder placement information corresponding to the rank and adopting aprice given by the product price multiplied by the discount rate as anew presentation price.
 7. The network system according to claim 1,wherein said order placement information notifying unit specifies otherproducts being sold concurrently with products indicated by the orderplacement information based on past order placement information storedin said order placement information storage unit and further notifiessaid terminal regarding the other products as related products of theproducts when a ratio of a number of concurrent sales of the productsand the other products to a number of sales of the products is greaterthan or equal to a predetermined value.
 8. A method of providing onlineshopping comprising: storing user information for identifying a user inassociation with organization information for identifying anorganization to which the user belongs; storing order placementinformation indicating a content of an order placed from a terminalconnected to a network in association with user information of an orderplacer; specifying, when the user accesses a shopping site via saidnetwork, corresponding organization information based on the userinformation entered from said terminal, and specifying user informationof an order placer, and another user associated with the specifiedorganization information, accessing the shopping site; and collectivelyacquiring order placement information by a control unit; acquiring orderplacement information associated with user information of the orderplacer and another user in association with the specified organizationinformation from said terminal, and providing notification of theacquired order placement information to said terminal as informationindicating a purchase log of an organization corresponding to thespecified organization information; and, subsequent to a display of saidorder placement information by said terminal, providing an indication ofnavigation to a products purchase page for display by said terminal,said products purchase page allowing the operator to provide said orderplacement information representing said content of said order, and,providing said terminal with selection means for selecting at least oneoperator from among operators corresponding to the specified operatorinformation.
 9. A purchase log presenting method which is applied to anetwork system for providing a product selling service based oninformation entered from a terminal connected to a network, said methodcomprising: a user registering step of performing user registration byregistering user information for identifying a user of said service; anorganization information registering step of registering, in a casewhere the user registered in said user registering step uses the serviceas a member of an organization, organization information for identifyingthe organization in association with the user information; an orderplacement information storing step of storing order placementinformation indicating a content of an order placed when the service isused, in association with user information of an order placer; anorganization information specifying step of specifying, when the useruses the service, corresponding organization information based on theuser information; a user information specifying step of specifying, in acase where organization information is specified in said organizationinformation specifying step, user information regarding order placers,and another user associated with the specified organization information,using the service; an order placement information notifying step ofcollectively acquiring, by a control unit, order placement informationassociated with the user using the service and order placementinformation associated with the user information specified in said userinformation specifying step from the order placement information storedin said order placement information storing step, and providingnotification of the acquired order placement information to saidterminal as information indicating a purchase log and, subsequent to adisplay of said order placement information by said terminal, providingan indication of navigation to a products purchase page for display bysaid terminal, said products purchase page allowing the operator toprovide said order placement information representing said content ofsaid order; and an operator selection means providing step of providingsaid terminal with selection means for selecting at least one operatoramong operators corresponding to operator information specified by saidorganization information specifying step, wherein said order placementinformation notifying step further comprises a searching step ofsearching the registered order placement information to acquire orderplacement information associated with operator information of theoperator selected by said selecting means and other operators inassociation with the organization information specified by said userinformation specifying step from said terminal.
 10. A server apparatuswhich is connected to a network and provides a site for selling aproduct in response to a request from a terminal connected to saidnetwork, said server apparatus comprising: a connection unit whichconnects to said network; an identification information storage unitwhich stores operator information for identifying an operator of saidterminal in association with organization information for identifying anorganization to which the operator belongs; an order placementinformation storage unit which stores a content of an order placed fromsaid terminal in association with operator information of an operatorwho has placed the order; an order placement reception unit whichreceives a placed order for a product and receives operator informationindicating an operator of a terminal which has sent the order, bycontrolling said connection unit; an organization information acquiringunit which acquires from said identification information storage unit,organization information associated with the operator information basedon the operator information received by said order placement receptionunit; an operator information acquiring unit which acquires from saididentification information storage unit, operator information of theoperator who has placed the order and another operator, associated withthe acquired organization information based on the organizationinformation acquired by said organization information acquiring unit; anorder placement information acquiring unit which collectively acquiresfrom said order placement information storage unit, order placementinformation associated with the operator of said terminal and orderplacement information associated with the operator information acquiredby said operator information acquiring unit; an order placementinformation sending unit which sends the order placement informationacquired by said order placement information acquiring unit to theterminal of the operator as purchase log information, by controllingsaid connection unit and, subsequent to a display of said orderplacement information by said terminal, providing an indication ofnavigation to a products purchase page for display by said terminal,said products purchase page allowing the operator to provide said orderplacement information representing said content of said order; and anoperator selection means providing unit which provides said terminalwith selection means for selecting at least one operator among operatorscorresponding to operator information acquired by said operatorinformation acquiring unit, wherein said order placement informationacquiring unit searches said order placement information storage unit toacquire order placement information associated with operator informationof the operator selected by said selection means and another operator inassociation with the organization information acquired by saidorganization information acquiring unit from said terminal.
 11. Theserver apparatus according to claim 10, wherein: said order placementinformation sending unit presents a selection area for selecting atleast one operator among operators corresponding to operator informationacquired by said operator information acquiring unit, on said terminal;and said order placement information acquiring unit acquires from saidorder placement information storage unit, order placement informationassociated with operator information of the operator selected in saidselection area.
 12. The server apparatus according to claim 10, whereinsaid order placement information sending unit: presents an input areafor inputting a search condition for order placement informationassociated with operator information acquired by said operatorinformation acquiring unit, on said terminal; and presents a result ofsearch for the order placement information stored in said orderplacement information storage unit which is searched by said orderplacement information acquiring unit based on the search condition inputin the input area, on said terminal.
 13. The server apparatus accordingto claim 12, wherein: the order placement information includes at leastarticle information for identifying an ordered article, order placementdate information indicating an order placement date, and delivereeinformation indicating a deliveree of the ordered article; and saidorder placement information acquiring unit searches said order placementinformation storage unit using at least one of the article information,the order placement date information, and the deliveree information asthe search condition.
 14. A computer-readable recording medium storing aprogram for controlling a computer, which is connected to a network andprovides a site for selling a product in response to a request from aterminal connected to said network, to function as: a connection unitwhich connects to said network; an identification information storageunit which stores operator information for identifying an operator ofsaid terminal in association with organization information foridentifying an organization to which the operator belongs; an orderplacement information storage unit which stores a content of an orderplaced from said terminal in association with operator information of anoperator who has placed the order; an order placement reception unitwhich receives a placed order for a product and receives operatorinformation indicating an operator of a terminal which has sent theorder, by controlling said connection unit; an organization informationacquiring unit which acquires from said identification informationstorage unit, organization information associated with the operatorinformation based on the operator information received by said orderplacement reception unit; an operator information acquiring unit whichacquires from said identification information storage unit, operatorinformation of the operator who has placed the order and anotheroperator associated with the acquired organization information based onthe organization information acquired by said organization informationacquiring unit; an order placement information acquiring unit whichcollectively acquires from said order placement information storageunit, order placement information associated with the operator of saidterminal and order placement information associated with the operatorinformation acquired by said operator information acquiring unit; anorder placement information sending unit which sends the order placementinformation acquired by said order placement information acquiring unitto the terminal of the operator as purchase log information, bycontrolling said connection unit and, subsequent to a display of saidorder placement information by said terminal, providing an indication ofnavigation to a products purchase page for display by said terminal,said products purchase page allowing the operator to provide said orderplacement information representing said content of said order, and anoperator selection means providing unit which provides said terminalwith selection means for selecting at least one operator among operatorscorresponding to operator information acquired by said operatorinformation acquiring unit, wherein said order placement informationacquiring unit searches said order placement information storage unit toacquire order placement information associated with operator informationof the operator selected by said selection means and another operator inassociation with the organization information acquired by saidorganization information acquiring unit from said terminal.